About

TO LOU CARVELL, CARS ARE MORE THAN JUST CARS. CARS ARE ART.

Inspired by the dream cars of the Eisenhower era when designers spent months creating taillights, door handles and hood ornaments, Lou began to realize what transformed cars from mere transportation to objects of desire had to do with the sum of the parts equaling the whole.

Not only does he hunt down discarded Buick taillights, obscure Hudson dashboards and vintage grills from old Cadillacs, he actually dares to elevate them to the art form they were destined to be. Roaming through faraway junkyards, Carvell feels an abstract kinship to John Chamberlain, who single handedly gave automotive metal a place in the history of sculpture.

While the untrained eye sees pedestrian, utilitarian pieces of plastic, metal, chrome and aluminum attached to an automobile, Mr. Carvell sees sensuous organic shapes derivative of nature with an unusual visual life of their own.

Lou photographs his precious finds, then ingeniously integrates them into graphic city, sky and seascapes.

The extraordinary result? REINCARNATION.

A series of powerful, stunning, unforgettable images. Images so reminiscent of the paintings of such early 20th century modernists as Charles Demuth, Charles Sheeler and Joseph Stella, one is tempted to label Carvell's art as "New Vintage."